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Carmel

There’s Candy and Cinnamon, so why not this? It sounds exactly like the yummy sugary snack, but has no relation to the word whatsoever. Spelled Carmel, it is the name of a place in Israel where alleged sightings of the Virgin Mary occurred way back in the Middle Ages. The miraculous visions gave its name to the Carmelite order.

Carmel is a derivative of the Hebrew karmel כַּרְמֶל. meaning “garden; orchard.” If you find the religious connotations too strong, and you love flowers, you now have the perfect excuse to use this name. Its designated name day is July 16.

As a given name, its spread throughout the Catholic world and the only English speaking country it ever gained any ground in, was Ireland, way back in the 1950s.

There’s the popular Italian version of Carmela, (also used by Spanish-speakers), which came to everyone’s attention as the name of Carmela Soprano on the hit HBO series.

There is also the obscure French form of Carmelle. Carmelita and Carmelina are popular Spanish diminutives, often used as independent names.

Other forms include:

Carme (Catalan/Galician)

Carmel(English: commonly used in Ireland)

Carmèle/Carmelle (French)

Karmela (German: rare)

Karméla (Hungarian)

Karmelina (Hungarian)

Carmela (Italian/Spanish)

Carmelina (Italian/Spanish)

Carmelinda (Italian/Portuguese/Spanish)

Carmelita (Spanish: originally a diminutive form, used as an independent given name)

Karmni (Maltese)

Carmo (Portuguese)

Carmen (Spanish: actually has a different etymology, but has been used as a cognate for centuries)

Spanish masculine forms are Carmelino, Carmelito and Carmelo and an Italian male form is Carmelio.

Thanks for the comment. No worries, your name is legit as can be. Its an Ancient Greek name and it means "life." I only just started writing this blog in May, so it does not have an exhaustive list, but please keep checking back, I will add the name Zoe sooner or later 🙂